Oil lamp



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. 8: A. E. PENN.

OIL LAMP. No. 431,616. Patented July 8, 1890.

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5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

OIL LAMP.

(No Model.)

Patented Jul 8', 1890.

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OIL LAMP. v No. 431,616. Patented JuIy 8 1890.

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OIL LAMP.

Patented July 8,1890.

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7 OIL LAMP Patented July 8, 1890.

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THOMAS PENN AND ALFRED EDIVARD PENN, OF WVANDSWORTI-I ROAD, COUNTY OF SURREY, ASSIGNORS TO THE PENN LAMP AND LIGHTING COMPANY, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND. l I

OIL-LAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,616, dated July 8, 1890. Application filed January 24, 1890. Serial No. 337,944. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS PENN and ALFRED EDWARD PENN, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, both residing at 40 WVestbury street, Vandsworth Road, in the county of Surrey, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil-Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

Ourinvention has for its object to provide IO :11 simple and cheap oil-lamp in which heavier oils can be burned than can be burned in lamps as generally hitherto constructed. According to our invention, we provide, in connection with the burner, (which contains the 15 wick,) a tube or passage or tubes or passages which at its or their lower end. or endsdips or dip into the oil in the reservoir, and at its or their upper end or ends deliver the said oil into a chamber or chambers surrounding or partly surrounding the upper end of the wick-tube and communicating with the wick therein by perforations in the said tube.

We place in the chamber or chambers into which the oil passes, as aforesaid, an absor- 2 5 bent material. e find that the material known as fustian or mole-skin answers this purpose. The said absorbent material covers the opening or openings in the wicktube, and may either fill the chamber or chambers or be placed in a space between the perforated upper part of the wick-tube and a perforated plate or plates situated in the said chamber or chambers.

The wick may or may not dip into the oil, 3 5 and a feeding-wick may, if desired, be used, which, being made of a more porous or open texture than the main Wick, will cause a sufficient quantity of oil to pass up to the main wick to keep it moist, although not suflicient to supply the burner. The aforesaid tubes or passages and the chamber or chambers above, when the lamp is first started, are filled with the oil, which, when the lamp is lighted, passes from the said chamber or chambers 5 through an opening or openings or perforation or perforations in the upper part of the wiclntube and supplies the oil to the wick near to the lighted end thereof. The filling of the tube or passage or tubes or passages and chamber or chambers with oil in starting the lamp may be done by removing the burner and inverting it, and pouring the oil into the tube or tubes or passage or passages, or it may be forced thereinto by any suitable forcing device by which oil can be forced from the reservoir into the said tube or tubes or to our invention, provided with a force-pump for charging the burner with oil when start mg the lamp; and Fig. 1 illustrates a modification. Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1,

but without the force-pump, the burner being charged with oil when starting the lamp by removing the burner from the reservoir 7; and charging it with oil through the lower 'open ends of the tubes, as hereinafter described. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. at a plan illustrating means for closing and opening the lower ends of the tubes by which oil is conducted to the burner; and Fig.

5 shows a portion of a lamp provided with only one depending tube and a suction device for charging the burner with oil.

Referring to Fig. 1, the vase or oil-reservoir A is provided with an internally-screwed collar a into which the bu rner-fitting B screws. This burner-fitting containsor carries a wick-tube a, the upper end of which is provided on both sides with a perforation or hole or perforations or holes covered witlr fustian, mole-skin, or equivalent absorbent material d, which may be held in position in any suitable Way'for example, by means of frames d, soldered to the wick-tube, as shown. 5 This absorbent material is inclosed' by an outer casing, so as to form achamber orchambers O, surrounding or partially surrounding the upper end of the wick-tube. Communicating with this chamber or with these chambers O are two tubes D D, which depend therefrom and extend to within a short distance of the bottom of the oil-reservoir A when the burner is in position therein. The portion of the wick which enters the oil-reservoir is inclosed by a sheath or cover a closed at the bottom, so that the wick has no direct contact with the oil contained in the reservoir A, the oil for burning being supplied to the wick through the tubes D D. One ofthe depending tubes D constitutes the delivery-pipe of a force-pump f, which is fixed to the burner-fitting B of the lamp for the purpose of charging the tubes D, chamber O, absorbent material d, and wick b with oil when starting the lamp. \Vhen filled with oil,the chamber 0 is air-tight. WVhen it is desired to start the'lamp, (the reservoir A being charged with oil,) the pump f is worked by means of the knob or handle tufast on the rod o of the piston 11 of the pump, the oil being drawn into the pump-cylinder from the reservoir through the suction-pipe c and valve to by raising the piston "0 and then by depressing the said piston the oil will be forced through the pipe D into the chamber O, and through the absorbent material d to the interior of the wick-tube and also into the tube D. The chamber 0, absorbent material d, and wick b, and the tubes D D being thus charged with oil, the pumping operation is discontinued, and the lamp being" lighted the oil will continue to flow through the tube D to the wick and will continue to burn until the quantity of oil in the reservoir is reduced to or nearly to a level with the lower ends of the tubes D D, unless the lamp be previously extinguished.

By inclosing the wick b, so as not to be in contact with the oil in the reservoir, accidents by explosions through overheating are prevented.

Fig. 1* shows one-half elevation of a modification of the arrangement, in which the pump f, employed for charging the burner with oil, is not connected to the charging tube or passage D, as in Fig. 1, but is provided with faced nozzles or branches at, (one for each of the tubes, one only of which is shown,) onto which, when it is required to effect the charging, the lower ends of the tubes D D may be brought by turning the burner partially round in its socket, so that the passages through the tubes D D will coincide with the passages in the nozzles M. Then, by working the pumpplunger by means of the knob or handle 11,

the tubes D D and chamber 0 and the absorbent material therein will be readily charged with oil drawn in by the valve to, after whichthe burner may be turned in either direction, so as to remove the lower ends of the tubesD D out of communication with the passages in the nozzles u and into communication with the oil in the reservoir, the lamp being then ready to be lighted;

Should the chamber 0, the absorbent material therein, and the tubes D become discharged of the oil, they may be readily r'echarged by turning the burner, so as to make the tubes communicate with the passages in the nozzles u and then working the pump.

In the arrangement illustrated by Fig. 2 the wick-tube a is open at the bottom, the wick 19 passing therethrough into the reservoir A. The said wick may, if desired, dip into the oil contained in the reservoir; butthis isnotnecessary, as the wick-tube and wick need not descend below the burner proper. A feedingwick of very absorbent material may be provided, if'desired, to conduct sufficient oil to the wick b to keep it moist, it being attached at any suitable point to the wick b, and dipping into the oil in the reservoir. The upper part of the wick-tube is perforated and is surrounded by a chamber 0, containing a perforated partition c, so as to divide the chamber into compartments d In the inner compartment d is placed absorbent material, as aforesaid, while the outer compartments d communicate with tubes or passages D D communicating at their upper ends to the chamber C and extending downward therefrom into'the oil to within a short distance of the bottom of the reservoir.

The burner-fitting is preferably connected to the reservoir by means of a bayonet-joint arran ement as shown at but if desired it may be screwed into the reservoir, as in the arrangement Fig. 1, or be otherwise connected thereto. To startthe lamp, the burner B is removed from the reservoir A, which is then charged with oil, and the chamber 0, the absorbent material therein, and tubes D D are also filled with oil by inverting the burnerfitting and tubes and pouring oil into the tubes D D until they, the chamber 0, and the absorbent material therein are fully charged. The burner is then replaced and fixed in the reservoir by means of the bayonet-joint connection, and the lamp is ready to be lighted. When the lamp is burning, the oil will continue to flow through the tubes into the compartment d of the chamber 0, through the perforated partition 0 and absorbent material (1, and the perforations in the wick-tube to the wick, and maintain the requisite supply to the burner until the quantity of oil in the reservoir is reduced nearly to a level with the lower ends of the tubes D.

In order to insure a charge of oil being reof each tube D D a plate or Valve g, on the under side of which is a projection h, engaging a guide slot or groove 1', fixed or formed tion, the lamp is ready to be lighted.

in the interior of the reservoir A, so that when the lamp is extinguished, or when it is for other reasons required to close the tubes D D, this may be effected by turning the burnerfitting in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4 from its position in which it should be when the lamp is burning until the edges is of the lips Z on the rim Z of the burner-fitting come up to the pointsmarked k on the rim mon the reservoir, in which position the ends of the tubes D D will be closed by the plates or valves g, the lips Z being still engaged with the projection or rim m on the reservoir, so as to keep the burner-fitting in contact therewith and prevent accident by its becoming detached.

In order to detach the burner-fitting from the reservoir, it is necessary to turn it still farther in the direction of the arrow, until the lips 1 pass the ends at n of the rimsm m, and then the burner-fitting may be raised from the reservoir, the tubes D D being still closed by the valves or plates g. Then the burner-' fitting is replaced on the reservoir, the project-ions h on the valves 9 enter the grooves or recesses 2', and thus prevent the valves from moving with the tubes D D when the burner-fitting is turned for the purpose of securing it to the reservoir. The valves, however, are of such a form as to maintain the lower ends of the tubesD D closed until the edges is of the lips I have passed the points k on the rim m, the said tubes not being fully openbefore the edges 7; of thelips Z are brought against the stops at 0, forming part of the rims m. Then the burner-fitting is in this posi- On the rim of the reservoir A are guides or stops 1), to insure the burner-fitting B being inserted in the resevoir in the proper place for the projections h on the valves g to enter the guides or slots or recesses "6.

Instead of removing the bu rner-fittin g from the reservoir for the purpose of charging the tubes D D and chamber Cand the absorbent material therein with oil, as hereinbefore described, there may be provided on the reservoir a stoppered tube, as shown by dot-andpick lines at r in Fig. 3, communicating with the chamber 0, so that oil introduced by the tube 1' will flow through the chamber 0 into the tubes D D. \Vhen the chamber 0, the absorbent material therein, and the tubes D D are fully charged, the tube 0 is closed by the screw-plug r and the lamp is then ready to be lighted.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of a portion of a lamp provided with only one feedingtube D, (but more than one maybe piovided, if desired,) and having, instead of the forcepump hereinbefore described, a suction device for charging the burner with oil for the purpose of starting the lamp. This suction device consists of a chamber 1, secured to the burner and communicating bya tube or passage 2 with the chamber 0, surrounding the wick-tube.

The chamber 1 is closed by a cover 3 of leather or other suitable flexible material secured to the chamber in any convenient manner-for example, by means of a rim 4, as shown in the drawings, soldered, screwed, or otherwise attached to the chamber. Inside this chamber is a spring 5, which bears against the inner face of the cover 3, and tends to force it outward.

The chamber 1 should be of sufficientlylarge capacity to draw the oil from the reservoir without returning it thereto; or we may employ a valve 00 at the lower end of the tube D, as indicated by dotted lines.

To charge the burner with oil, the cover 3 is depressed against the pressure of the spring 5 and then released, whereupon the spring will force the cover outward, thereby producing a partial vacuum, which causes the oil from the reservoir to flow up the tube D into the chamber 0 and through the perforations in the wick-tube to the wick. This operation may be repeated as often as required until the burner is sufficiently charged. The lamp being then lighted will continue to burn until the oil in the reservoir is exhausted.

Lamps constructed according to our invention are very safe and are capable of burning heavier oils having higher flashing-points than can be burned in lamps as generally hitherto constructed.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is- 1. In an oil-lamp, the combination of the reservoir, the wick-tube perforated or provided with openings at its upper end, the chamber at the upper end of the wick-tube, the absorbent material in said chamber, and a pipe or passage connecting said chamber with the reservoir.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the reservoir, the wick, the wick-tube perforated at its upper end, the chamber at the upper end of the wick-tube, the absorbent material therein, a tube or passage connecting said chamber with the reservoir, and a sheath protecting the lower end of the wick from direct contact with the oil in the reservoir.

3. In an oil-lamp, the combination of the reservoir, the wick-tube perforated at its upper end, a chamber at the upper end of the wick-tube, a pipe or passage connecting this chamber with the reservoir, and a suction device for charging the chamber and wick with oil from the reservoir, substantially as described.

THOMAS PENN. ALFRED EDWVARD PENN.

WVitnesses:

VVALTER J. SKERTEN,

17 Gracechurch Street, London, E. O.

THOMAS LAKE,

7 Gracechurch Street, London, E. C.

ITO 

